Unsolved Manchester Canal Gay Serial Killer

Paco Ienesta

Draftee
Jan 6, 2015
16
11
AFL Club
West Coast
I'm sure a few of you raised eyebrows at this article today.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...l-killer|homepage|homepage&itmt=1421064008671

Excerpts:

The Mirror reports that a total of 61 bodies have been pulled from the Manchester canals over the past 6 years, many found near the city’s gay village.

“It is extremely unlikely that such an alarming number of bodies found in the canals is the result of accidents or suicides,” Professor Craig Jackson, from Birmingham University said.

Police have played down his belief that a serial killer could be on the loose, insisting each individual case is investigated thoroughly.

A police spokesman told the Manchester Evening News that: “Only after a robust investigation into the circumstances of each death would investigators deem one to be ‘non-suspicious’ and pass the file to the coroner.

“None of our investigations are carried out in isolation and as we have said publicly before, we have established no link between the various incidents recorded.”

--------------------------------

Massive wtf?

61 bodies in Manchester Canals over past 6 years. That's 10 per year. To put it into perspective, Sydney is full of waterways and has a bigger population. There's nowhere near 10 bodies being found each year in Sydney waterways. We're not talking "boating accident, someone died and was taken away in ambulance", we're talking 61 dead people found in the canals over a 10 year period.

The first thought is: Is this creative journalism? Have they taken some liberties at every point and made something out of nothing? It's hard to believe that autopsies didn't show foul play, followed by an investigation, followed by questions as to whether there is a serial killer on the loose. Surely the media are doing some dodgy reporting?

Other thoughts:

- Is this police force amazingly incompetent?
- What were the causes of death? And if they were determined as murder then why weren't police onto this sooner?
- The articles insinuates they are all men. Gay serial killer or victims of criminal enterprise?
- How do you dump a body in Manchester's Gay Villiage. It's like dumping bodies in the back street of Chapel St. Very hard to avoid people at all times of night and day.
- How were they found? Wrapped up and weighed down? Or just floating with their clothes on. Surely if it's the latter then there would be some sort of escalation within the media starting at "another dude commits suicide in canal" to "oh f uck we have ourselves a serial killer". If it's the former than t either serial killer or proceeds of crime.
 

Silent Alarm

sack Lyon
10k Posts
Jul 9, 2010
24,163
26,535
AFL Club
Fremantle
A few years ago I had a real interest in one case that immediately sprang to mind – Chris Brahney's. I posted a thread on BF about it for context's sake, but he was essentially a (straight) 22-year old guy who went missing after a Stone Roses show. There was footage of him walking down towards the river, and words of him sitting down against a fence there, but no explanation was ever given.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/chris-brahney.985338/

There's a reference of it in a few articles
“The coroner’s post-mortem would then ascertain the cause of death, which would then be recorded accordingly by the investigating officer.

“None of our investigations are carried out in isolation and as we have said publicly before, we have established no link between the various incidents recorded.”

Professor Jackson cited the death of 22-year-old Chris Brahney who was found dead 10 days after going missing from a concert.

A coroner later recorded an open verdict, admitting she simply couldn’t say how he had ended up in the water.
http://www.news.com.au/world/europe...moved-from-canal/story-fnh81p7g-1227181828196

Surely the GMP would have cause for genuine worry if there was a correlation. But there seems to be almost none. Even with hyperbolic media statements. Maybe (likely) it's just clickbait and an avenue for endless reporting in the future, and there's been limited research, but where is any kind of vague MO? I'm guessing a fair few are men. But how many bodies end up right out the front of this gay village? If they did, the bodies could have floated there, or the bodies dumped there could have floated in any direction... there doesn't seem to be any vague connection aside from there being a lot of people in the one river.

I know Brahney was found clothed and floating a few days later in the canal. Nothing much was ever said aside from MDMA being in his system. I don't think there was any word regarding injuries, aside from bruises (which they said were pretty normal, tissue softening in the water and being easily bruised).
 

billywhizz

Cancelled
Aug 16, 2009
253
554
AFL Club
Richmond
How hard is it to get out of these canals once you fall in?

Here are similar figures over the past three years relating to the canals in Amsterdam (51 bodies over three years). Says most of them fell in while drunk and relieving themselves.

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/2152-amsterdam-canals-drownings

Also, if there is no CCTV near this canal (obviously there isn't any otherwise we'd know how the hell these people keep ending up in the drink) then it could be a dangerous spot for muggings. ie. "give me your wallet or you're going in". I don't think a pissed person could swim around for too long before going under. Maybe there's a ladder out of there or something, but it would be hard to see in the dark. The water would be freezing too.
 

billywhizz

Cancelled
Aug 16, 2009
253
554
AFL Club
Richmond
s**t. Are they just not well lit enough near the edge?

There's no way to rescue someone that has fallen in, because there's no visible way to get out again and it's the middle of winter.
 

Minidisc MD

Cancelled
Nov 29, 2019
424
593
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Bit of a bump.

I've spent a fair bit of time in Manchester. spoken to a variety of people and no one has ever really considered there to be a murderer.

The other thing is that the city is based entirely around canals. it's a bit like Amsterdam, it just doesn't have the reputation. they're also just much thinner and way less used. there's no city in Australia comparable. this is also an area where people just don't grow up swimming.

The one thing i always find funny about it though is how poorly maintained they are. basically there's no railings or walls near any of them. and i can't tell you how many times I've been on a clear path, like intended for people, and it's been half a metre wide and slippery. tbh i'm surprised more people don't fall in or people don't complain. just an accepted thing I guess.

Pity the city itself has devolved too. used to be a great place.
 
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